


And That's The Way The News Goes

by NeonCityLights



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Coming Out, I know, Investigative Journalists to weekly Fluff Piece, M/M, One-Sided Atraction on Jimmy's part, This is not how the news works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-14 02:17:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16030922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonCityLights/pseuds/NeonCityLights
Summary: High schooler Jimmy Jones used to be a freelance investigative journalist who reported behind a pen name on his blog. That was until his fans made a connection between a tweet and his FAQ's. His internship at Channel 3 turned from being another coffee grabber to an after school Fluff Piece. He was doing a segment for Fall when he recognizes a familiar face.





	And That's The Way The News Goes

**Author's Note:**

> I'm practically a shut in with no experience with this kind of stuff. There's not enough stuff from Jimmy's perspective so I hope you enjoy this AU I made for this One-Shot. Might do some more in this setting so stay posted.

"We're on in five, kid."

Jimmy glanced up from his notes and tried to look irritated. It didn't help that his heart wasn't into it. The look earned him a chuckle from Derek which brought a blush to his face. As embarrassing as it was, and he'll never admit this out loud, the guy was cute. In a dude-bro kind of way, but like that mattered. The cameraman was in his mid twenties, way too old for Jimmy by any stretch of the imagination.

Besides, it was just a crush. Nothing harmless.

"You okay, squirt?" Derek said, lowering his camera ever so slightly. General concern laced his words warmed Jimmy's heart, but the timber made the teenager blush another shade of scarlet. "Not looking to hot."

_Oh, how Cindy warned me about you_. Of course that was in a completely different context. Somewhere between their constant bickering and their back-and-forth banter off screen when they thought no one could hear them. But still...

"Jimmy..." Derek warned.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. It's autumn. Just a little cold."

Derek Hansen, cameraman with arms so muscular they put most weight lifters to shame, was his glorified babysitter. Jimmy was fifteen and Channel 3's very own star child of an intern. Like most interns his age the program meant coffee runs, hauling equipment, and learning everything they can in-between. That all changed when a bunch of Jimmy's fans emailed the news station about his blog. A blog that had been rivaling Channel 3 for the last few years when it came to local news in Bellwood.

Now he regretted Tweeting about his internship. That single post brought him to his current predicament. No, not Darren. That was a mixed bag in of itself. Over night he went from a no named intern with wide eyes and all smiles to a part time field reporter. Sure, it had it's perks and his mom couldn't be more proud of him, but it bugged him to no end.

Granted, it was a foot in the door (a pretty big step at that) but he was one giant PR stunt who did fluff pieces after school hours.

He missed the days of running around town, doing research till the early hours dawn, and getting statements as an _investigative_ journalist. A private one at that until people made a few connection and blew apart the anamniote of his pen name. Despite all the good it will do for his career, it now put him on thin ice with his mom and the police. Turned out some of his findings, and how he went about getting them, didn't sit well with his mom...and a few laws he might've broke in the process.

"You good, kid?"

Jimmy sighed and adjusted his bowtie. It was green with yellow poke-dots, that and the beige vest with his splash of freckles apparently made him to "cute" for camera. "Yeah, I'm good."

Derek opened his mouth to say more, but his head suddenly jerked at an angle. A tell-tell chirp echoed from Jimmy's earpiece. He quickly composed himself, lowering the notes he already committed to memory and raised his mic up to speak.

Derek raised his hand and counted down. _4...3...2...1_

_"Thank you, Will,_ " McKenzie Grey's voice came over the ear piece just as the red light on the camera came on. "I hope that our own UoB soccer team can live up to your standards on Saturday's game. Well, viewers, Fall has blazed a trail of browns, oranges, and bright yellows through the city. The Autumn Festival begins next Friday but many stores and businesses have already begun their own traditions. Our very own Jimmy Jones comes to us live on Elm Street. Jimmy? How is it out there."

Jimmy gave the camera his signature smile. "It's lovely out, Mrs. Grey, but I'm pretty sure Cindy will have more to say about it." He gestured behind him. "As you can see, couples both young and old are lining up to receive their own Autumn Hearts."

Jimmy backpedaled a few steps, buying Derek time to get ahead of him as he began to walk down the line as they planned. The angle they filmed at caught the cafe's sign and the customers coming out with steaming hot coco and heart-shaped, caramel pastries. A few of the couples in line turned to wave and smile at the camera, but the majority ignored them.

McKenzie chuckled, voice chiming like a dozen bells. "And I imagine you'll be taking your own Sweetheart to Café Patisserie later today?"

Jimmy stumbled but quickly recovered. He ignored the looks that snapped his way and the flush of heat rising to his cheeks.

He blinked at the camera, looking past it to Derek before looking away. "I, um-"

"Now, now, McKenzie." Will Harangue's voice cut him off, chiding her in a playful manner. "Play nice or you'll give the poor boy a heart attack."

"I'm just teasing, Will." She said. There was a subtle tone to her voice. Something he could only pick up after hearing her on and off set. Her cheery disposition didn't carry over to her time of screen. "And it's McKenzie, dear. Mrs. Grey's my mother."

"Right..." Jimmy said. McKenzie Grey wasn't that old, but apparently the PR stunt that was his carrier was ruffling her career. Probably something the producer said to her on the side. _Not to self, don't step on her toes._

When she spoke next it snapped Jimmy out of his thoughts. He lapsed into silence without realizing it, but it wasn't that long of a pause. Just long enough to show she was playing him like a fiddle.

She tossed him a line. "Anything else, dear?"

"Of course!" Jimmy smiled and resumed his walk, smile plastered back on his face. "Many events like these are taking place all over Bellwood. We'll have an interview with Mr. Dupain and his wife tonight when business ebbs it's flow, until then me and Derek out here will be traveling all over town doing interviews so our viewers know what to expect this week leading to the Autumn Festival."

Darren gave him a quick thumbs up just as Harangue said. "Thank you, Jimmy, we'll get back to you later today."

"Until then, Mr.-Ben Tennyson?"

Jimmy went rigid, coming to a complete halt. Derek quirked his brow, but professionalism took him, and he rotated and backpedaled to follow Jimmy's line of sight while keeping the kid in the shot. And there he was. Ben Tennyson stood their in line, dressed for the weather, with a hand brought up to conceal him from the camera.

After a second, he sighed and dropped his hand, giving him a sheepish smile. "Hey, Jimmy. Long time no see."

There was a second of Will Harangue having a complete fanboy conniption before the earpiece cut off.

A split second passed before McKenzie's voice crackled to life. "Listen, Kid, it's just you on the air. We've been trying to get an interview for weeks- _shut up, Will!_ -gotta play it by ear. Can you do that?"

Of course he could. Jimmy has been doing interviews for years before social media painted him in a corner. Besides, it wouldn't be his first interview with Ben Tennyson. How did they not know this? Sure it was college sports, but they took these things seriously in Bellwood.

"Hey, Ben, how've you been?"

Ben smiled, but it's ease was replaced by a weary force when he glanced at the camera and the mic being held out towards him. "Enjoying my time off. College's kicking my butt, and I've been going hard on practice. You?"

"Got an internship," Jimmy said, giving him a confident shrug.

"Congrats!" Ben gives him a sheepish smile and the tension eased. His shoulders lowered. "Sorry that I'm late to the party on that. Don't really have time for the news."

Jimmy could hear McKenzie encouraging him on, which drowned out Harangue who was shouting questions over her shoulders. He didn't know what half of those meant, but the anchorman was surely riled up. Jimmy ignored him.

McKenzie said, "You're doing great, just get something, anything."

"It's fine," Jimmy said, trying his best to reassure him and do his job. "So, Ben, what are you doing here?" He made a quick glance around. "Coming to get a Autumn Heart for your girlfriend?" Jimmy vaguely remembered he was dating a tennis player. Julie Yamamoto? It's been years though.

Ben blushed and cleared his throat. "Actually..." He slipped a hand into the man's right next to him, making a show of it for the camera. "I'm here with my boyfriend."

Jimmy blinked. How did his eyes glaze over him? The man, a college student about Ben's age, had raven hair, firm jaw, and a tan that had to be natural to last this long into Fall. He was built too, with more muscles then Ben, and it showed in his movements as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and glanced off into the distance.

The sunlight shined off the window behind him in such a way that...

It clicked.

"Wait. Aren't you Rex Salazar from the UoB Basketball team?"

Harangue's voice boomed over the earpiece like a clap of thunder. He shouted numbers into Jimmy's ear, statistics probably, and words that he assumed were positions and the names of matches. Jimmy knew his stuff, enough to recognize it, but Will Harangue lived and breathed college sports.

There was a scuffle on the other end as McKenzie wrestled the small mike from the man. "You got the go ahead kid. This is good and the producers see it. Get a statement, something!"

Jimmy didn't miss a beat. "How long have you two been dating?"

Ben shrugged his shoulders, glancing up at Rex. "Three months, about to go on four."

Rex nodded, keeping his eyes on his boyfriend, ignoring the camera and the crowed around them. "But we've known each other for years before we started dating."

"Something like that." Ben said. He gave Jimmy a look, heavy in meaning and it set a shiver down Jimmy's spine, before waving at the camera. "Hi mom, dad, grandpa. Sorry you had to figure out this way. I planned on bringing him to thanksgiving, I swear!"

A chunk of ice settled in Jimmy's stomach. "Right..."

McKenzie picked up on the lull and started feeding him questions. Jimmy went through them with a sense of detachment, ignoring the ones way to personal for his liking. McKenzie, sharp as a sword, only offered questions about relationships and political views. Jimmy was quick on his feet, retreading over old interview questions from his blog. The network was quick to mute her and put on Harangue.

At the end of the day it was a descent five minute interview with a rocky start as impromptu as it was.

Jimmy turned to the camera. "Well, that's all the time we have for this segment. Thank you Ben and Rex for the interview." He made sure to shake both of their hands on air. "We'll now go back to Will and McKenzie in the Newsroom."

Darek gave him a thumbs up after a second of silence before lowering the Camera. "You did good, Kid. We gotta be across town for an interview in a couple of hours. Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure, don't wanna talk on an empty stomach."

"I'll be in the van." He said, shaking both men's hands before leaving. "It was nice meeting the both of you."

And that left the three of them standing their on the sidewalk. The line had been steadily creeping closer to the Café and they were a few couples down from being at the entrance. The smell of baked goods, pumpkin spice, and everything embodying autumn.

Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry about that. It was completely uncool and-"

"Don't sweat it," Ben said, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "For the second there I thought it was gonna be TMZ all over again."

"Got that ri-wait," Rex did a double take. "You were on TMZ?"

Ben shrugged. "Well, twice. Once after Julie went pro and broke up with her singer boyfriend. The second time was when they hounded me for a week after breaking up with Jennifer." At Rex's confused look he offered, "You know, Jennifer Nocturne? The actress?"

The couples around them, who were politely ignoring them up to that point, all turned to give him confused looks before pulling out their phones. Ben rolled his eyes. "I'll show you some pictures later."

A nearby honk got Jimmy's attention. "Well, that's my cue. It was nice seeing you Ben."

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving? It's just you and your mom, right?"

Jimmy Blinked. "Wh-what?"

"Dude, you haven't been over in forever. I know it's been years, but your still my little brother after all."

"I-" Jimmy was cut off by another honk from the van. "Sure. I'll call you later after work."

He took several steps before Ben caught his wrist and pulled him into a hug. It was nice, warm, and comfortable compared to the autumn chill. Jimmy held on for a second longer than casual before pulling away and running to the car. By the look of it Derek was watching the interaction closely.

Derek gave him a sideways look before pulling onto the road. "What was that about?"

"Hm? Oh, he was my Big Brother a few years ago. Mom was working, dad's not in the picture and I don't have any uncles so..."

"She found you a good role model."

It took Jimmy a second before realizing it was a compliment. He turned to look out the window to hide his goofy grin. "Thanks."


End file.
